She stated this so matter of factly, Jake wondered if Emma even realized how amazing it was.
“I left college and moved back home. The insurance money helped us keep the house for a little while and then we decided to sell it because we needed the money.”
“You gave up college?” Tom asked. He was only saying out loud what the others were thinking. How could an eighteen year old change her life so quickly and take on raising a twelve year old?
Emma looked up in surprise. “She needed me.” And then she smiled and looked over at Laurie. “And I needed her.”
The table was quiet for a moment. Jake stared at the beautiful woman sitting at the end of the table, wishing more than ever that she was sitting next to him. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, holding her close. He felt a desire to protect her and take care of her the way she cared for others, recognizing how special she was.
Right then, Brandi popped her gum loudly, breaking the silence. While the others glared at her, Emma just threw her head back and laughed. Jake thought it was the most refreshing sound he had ever heard.
“I did not give up college completely,” Emma explained. “It just took longer. I transferred to the community college and took a few classes at a time. When I could, I finished at the university closest to us. I had a job to help support us, so we did fine.”
Jake continued to stare. The life change that most people would not have chosen to make, seemed to totally unfazed Emma. They had celebrated Laurie’s twenty fifth birthday a few months past, so that would make Emma only thirty-one… hardly the older woman he was prepared to meet considering he was thirty three years old himself.
“Oh my God!” exclaimed Brandi. “I couldn’t have given up my life for a kid!”
Jake growled as the others glared. He glanced over at Emma to see if she was upset.
Emma leaned forward, looking directly at Brandi with a sincere smile on her face. “Well, my dear, I think we can all be glad that you never had to make that choice,” she said trying not to laugh.
Brandi, oblivious as ever, sat back and huffed. “I’m bored, Jakey. Let’s go shoot some pool.”
Jake turned in his seat, his patience over, and leaned into her face. “For the last time Brandi, I. Am. Not. Here. With. You.”
Laurie had had all she was going to take. “Brandi, no one invited you. This is a private gathering so get the hell away from our table!”
Brandi, unused to men not fawning over her, waited for them to jump to her defense. When it did not happen, she pushed her chair back and stomped over to the pool tables.
“Fine, I did not want to sit with a bunch of boring old foggies anyway.” she shouted over her shoulder.
“Laurie!” Emma admonished, “You shouldn’t have pushed her away on my account.”
All of the eyes at the table turned towards her, beginning to talk at once, assuring her they were better off without Brandi’s company.
“Well, I was getting a little tired of being called old,” Emma laughed. She looked over and caught Jake staring at her. His eyes never wavered from hers; she usually could hold her own in a stare down, but found herself feeling self-conscious. Maybe he thinks I am old.
The food finally arrived and conversation flowed again.
“So you’re staying with Laurie?” Carol assumed.
“No way!” Emma exclaimed.
“What?” Laurie yelled. “Of course you are staying with us!”
“Laurie, you and Rob just moved in together. You think I would intrude?” Emma asked. Rob and Laurie assured her that they wanted her there, but Emma stood firm. She insisted that she was staying in the little hotel down the street near the bar. “In fact, I have already checked in, put my bags in the room, met the delightful owners, and checked out the hotel pool for a swim later on!” she laughed.
Jake snapped his head around quickly and looked over at her. What the hell? The thought of Emma in a swimsuit in the hotel’s outdoor pool in the middle of the night made his blood run cold. Fairfield may be a small town, but it had its share of crime. He hated the thought of her being in a swimsuit without him around for protection.
Fuck, who am I kidding? I just don’t want anyone else to see her luscious body besides me.
“You’re not swimming later tonight,” he stated as though that would be the end of the conversation. He didn’t ask, he just stated.
“Sure I am, the pool is heated.”
“You’re not swimming at night,” he stated again, not taking his eyes off of her.
“Uh oh, the protector is coming out in him,” Laurie interjected.
“I don’t care what is coming out of him, no one tells me what to do,” Emma declared. It was hard to stare at all of that male beauty glaring at her, but she forced her libido to take a back seat to her irritation.
“Jake’s used to getting his way,” Carol explained as though that should make it all right.
“Well, so am I! And at my advanced years, I hardly think I need anyone to tell me what to do!” said Emma.
“Fuck!” Jake growled, scooting his chair back quickly and walking over toward the bar. He knew he had screwed up the minute he thought that Laurie’s aunt was an older woman and he allowed Brandi to walk in with him. That gorgeous, infuriating brunette sitting back at the table was not going to make things easy, and all he wanted right now was to jerk her out of the chair, push her up against the wall, and kiss her until she couldn’t think anymore. He headed through the crowded room toward the bar to get another beer and cool down. Never one to lose control, he couldn’t believe how quickly Emma had gotten under his skin. Well, she may have thought she won this round, but he never backed down from a challenge.
Rob and Tom looked over and grinned at each other. Jake had always held himself apart from having a relationship, saying that he couldn’t take care of his mom and have a girlfriend at the same time, although Tom and Rob tried to convince him differently. Rob always said one day someone would come along who would knock Jake on his ass.
Emma couldn’t decide if she was more irritated at Jake for trying to be bossy or for walking away. All she knew was that after the long drive, she was too tired to think about the gorgeous man who had walked over to the bar. As she said her goodbyes to the rest of their group, Rob and Laurie invited them all over for a barbeque soon. Walking through the crowd toward the door of the bar, she felt eyes boring into the back of her. Turning around she saw Jake staring at her. She held his stare for a moment before giving a sad little smile and a halfhearted wave in his direction. Jake nodded her way, his eyes never leaving hers.
Damn, he’s gorgeous, she thought. Too bad he’s not interested.
Damn, she’s gorgeous, he thought. And I’m just the man for her.
Chapter 3
Emma, too keyed up to go right to sleep, decided to take a quick swim. She changed into her old faded, one piece black swimsuit, took out her contacts, grabbed her glasses and a towel, and headed out. She swam laps for about thirty minutes then decided she was tired enough to go back to her room. Climbing out of the pool, she looked around for her towel. Realizing she was on the opposite side from where she left it, she started to walk around the pool’s edge.
“You just couldn’t resist, could you?” resonated a deep voice several feel away. Emma jumped back with a squeak, panic written on her face.
“Who’s there?” she squinted in the dim light, trying to see. Jake looked down at the table holding her towel and saw her glasses.
Furious, he growled, “You come out here in the middle of the night, and you can’t even see around you without your glasses?”
Emma was too startled to speak. He reached down, snagged her towel and glasses, and stalked toward her.
“Jake, what are you doing out here?”
He stared at the water droplets falling from her hair, running down her shoulders, and down her breasts. What would I give to be one of those drops of water right now?
Realizing that he was stari
ng, he wrapped the towel around her shoulders, shielding her beautiful distracting body from his view. He placed her glasses on her face, and looked into her eyes. Jake could see by her expression that she was gearing up for an argument. Not wanting to hear it, he bent, scooped her up in his powerful arms, and carried her over his shoulders up to her room.
“Jake, put me down,” Emma whispered, not wanting to wake any of the hotel’s residents. Jake’s only response was a slap on her swimsuit covered ass. Once at her door, he pulled out her room card from his pocket, which he had palmed while she was swimming. Throwing open the door, he lowered her to the floor gently.
“What were you thinking?” He bent down to look her eye to eye. “You’re new in town, hardly know anyone, don’t have your cell phone with you, swimming in a hotel pool in the middle of the night, blind as a bat, where anyone could grab you, and you’d never see them coming.”
Emma’s heart was racing, but she wasn’t sure if it was from being angry or being in such close proximity to Jake. She couldn’t remember ever being this near to such a virile, handsome man…and one who was equally infuriating. The cold room was making her nipples poke through her swimsuit. She tried to clutch the wet towel around her tighter.
Jake was aware of how little Emma had on. Although having seen much more skin from women wearing tiny bikinis, he was entranced by how beautiful she looked in her one piece suit. Her wet hair was slicked back from her face; she had no makeup on and yet as he stared down into her dark eyes, he could not help but notice the pure beauty of her face. He could see that her nipples had pebbled, from the cold or from excitement he didn’t know. He actually didn’t care what the reason was; he just knew that he was growing hard at the thought of peeling her wet suit slowly from her body and discovering all of Emma’s beauty. Shifting his stance, he attempted to hide the tightness in his jeans.
“And while we’re at it, a man grabs you and starts to carry you off and you only whisper? You don’t yell your head off?” Jake asked incredulously, crossing his huge arms over his impressive chest, staring down at her.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Emma looked up at Jake. “First of all, I didn’t scream because I know you. I may have been upset at your high-handed way of carrying me, but I wasn’t afraid of you. Should I have been?” she asked, looking up into his baby blue eyes. “And to answer your first question, well… I’ve always taken care of myself, Jake.” She expected him to continue to argue or get angry.
Leaning over, he softly said, “Well, now you have someone to take care of you,” as he kissed her forehead. “Lock up behind me.” With that, he walked out the door.
Emma stunned by the evening’s events, couldn’t help but smile. Moving to Fairfield was definitely the right move.
*
The next week flew by as Emma discovered the town of Fairfield. Since her counseling job did not begin until the fall with the start of school, she and Laurie had time to visit shops and meet more of Laurie’s friends. Emma became friendly with Helen and Roger, the couple who ran the hotel. They were in their mid-sixties, showing no signs of slowing down. Helen was a plump woman with her grey hair always pulled back into a bun. She reminded Emma of pictures of Mrs. Santa Claus. Roger was spry and wiry, always running around making sure the old hotel was fit for his guests, as he liked to say.
They regaled Emma with tales of the people who came through Fairfield and stayed at their hotel, often accompanied with pictures they had taken with their favorite guests. There were pictures lining the walls of the lobby of Helen and Roger through the years with an odd assortment of people. Each year a motorcycle group rode through and always had their picture taken with Helen and Roger. There were some families that came every year and stayed on their way to the state park nearby. Emma, walking around looking at the photographs, spotted an occasional politician and even a movie star whose limo had broken down in town one year. Roger told Emma that he wanted a picture of her on their wall.
Emma just laughed and told him that she wasn’t famous enough to be in their esteemed collection.
Helen leaned over the counter and grasped Emma’s hand. “Oh my dear, I have a feeling you are going to be so good for this town.”
Emma, not knowing what to say, just mumbled, “Thank you.”
Helen patted her hand and replied, “You’ll see, my dear. You’ll see.”
Emma looked into Roger’s smiling face. He winked at her and noted, “My Helen, she knows things, Emma. She can always tell the good ones from the bad ones. And she knows you are definitely one of the good ones.”
In the mornings, Emma stopped by their office to share a cup of coffee. Roger walked to the coffee shop and bakery that was just down the street. He called it his morning constitutional for keeping in shape, which made Helen roll her eyes. After Roger left the office, Helen declared that she did not know why he walked to the bakery for exercise, only to fill up his belly with pastries. Emma giggled, enjoying the loving banter between these two.
At the bakery, the pastries were freshly baked each day, and the coffee was so much better than the franchise shops. Bernie’s Bakery was owned by Bernadette, Rob’s mom.
One day, sitting in the hotel office with Roger and Helen enjoying the coffee and pastries, Emma saw a picture of a teenager on their desk. She asked who the handsome young man was.
“That’s our grandson, Brad,” Roger answered proudly. “You’ll see him once you start working – he goes to the high school where you will be.”
“He is just as handsome as his grandfather,” Emma noted. “How old is he?”
Roger, smiling at the compliment, had to think for a second. “Sweet pea, how old is Brad now? Is he fifteen or sixteen?” he yelled towards the back of the office where Helen was working on the books.
“He’s almost eighteen,” Emma heard Helen reply from the back.
Roger just shook his head. “I don’t know where the years go! It seems just yesterday his mom, Wendy, was that age.” Emma leaned over the counter and patted his hand.
She smiled and said, “I feel the same about Laurie.”
“How do you feel about me?” Laurie asked as she walking into the office, looking amazing as always. Laurie was dressed in white capris with a pale yellow peasant blouse, just low enough to show off a hint of cleavage. Always conscious of being short, she paired her outfit with matching yellow wedge sandals with a four inch heel. Laurie had her hair pulled up in a high pony tail, knowing it was going to be a scorcher of a day.
Emma hugged her. “We were just noticing how quickly the years are passing.”
“Oh God, surely you don’t feel old yet?” Laurie asked. Laurie always felt a little guilty that Emma had given up so many years to raise her, even though she knew Emma dearly loved her.
“No, I don’t feel old! Well, at least not as old as some people think I am!” she laughed.
“Emma, you are never going to let Jake live that down!” Laurie giggled. “Anyway, I am here to take to you Bernie’s Bakery to pick up stuff to take to the firehouse. I told Rob we would visit this morning.”
Emma and Laurie hopped into Laurie’s yellow VW bug and headed down the street. The shops were starting to open, and Emma liked the friendly small town feel of downtown Fairfield. There were lots of strip malls on the outskirts of Fairfield, but Emma appreciated the quaintness of the downtown area. They parked and walked towards the bakery.
Emma and Laurie made quite a pair walking down the street, turning the eyes of several men passing them. Emma was dressed in robin’s-egg blue shorts paired with a white eyelet tank top, both hugging her curves. Her dark brown hair swung around her shoulders, complimented the subtle makeup she wore. She had never gained the confidence that Laurie had wearing high heels, so Emma’s three-inch white wedges did not give her much height, but her toned legs looked amazing nonetheless.
The happy pair entered the bakery. Emma met Bernie, Rob’s mom and had the chance to chat with her for a little bit before they heade
d over to the firehouse. Bernie was a force to be reckoned with. She was a middle-age dynamo, bagging pastries and yelling out coffee orders to her barista for all the customers in line. Bernie had the same black hair that her son Rob had, with only a few sprinkles of gray. Her eyes were bright and friendly, and she looked like the type of person who never met a stranger. Her shop was welcoming, and Emma had a chance to look around before they picked up the food.
Images of a cup of hot coffee surrounded by cupcakes decorated the bright pink awning. The pink theme continued inside the shop. The chairs were all painted white and while the table legs were also white, the table tops were painted pastel pink. The soft pink walls were filled with pictures of pastries that immediately made customers want to indulge. The counter ran along one side of the shop; the glass cases filled to the brim with cookies, cupcakes, muffins, and other assorted goodies. The smell of homemade pastries baking in the back made Emma’s mouth water.
“Are you sure we have to take goodies to the firehouse?” she joked to Laurie. “Can’t we sit here and eat them all ourselves?”
Laughing, Laurie answered back. “I know! When I come in here, I know I am going to gain weight just by breathing!”
“How’s my girl?” Bernie greeted Laurie with a big hug. Turning to Emma, she enveloped her in a hug as well. “Oh, you must be Emma. I have to tell you that Mac and I are so happy that this girl came into our Rob’s life!”
Emma could not help but embrace the older woman back, feeling proud of her role in Laurie’s upbringing. The women talked for a little while in the back of the shop. Bernie greeted most customers who came in, introducing Emma to many of them. Emma could see the look of surprise in quite a few eyes as she was introduced as Laurie’s aunt.
“Did the whole town think I was older?” She smirked at Laurie. Laurie just rolled her eyes and laughed back. Bernie, Emma, and Laurie packed up pastries and coffee thermoses to take to the firehouse.
“Give my son and husband a kiss for me!” Bernie ordered in a happy voice.
Emma's Home (The Fairfield Series) Page 3